We Bought a House — and It’s So Much More Than That

I’ve been quiet lately, but for a good reason — big things have been happening over here.

On July 25th, we officially settled on our house in Havre de Grace!

Buying a house is exciting for anyone, but for us, it’s so much more than just “big news.”

This house is ours.

Our home.Untainted by the past.

Untainted by a nasty custody battle. Untainted by anyone who doesn’t belong trying to act like they have a say.

This will be the home where Audrey starts kindergarten.

The home where Jack gets ready for his high school graduation.

Where Emmie tries on prom dresses.

Where Cam invites over his new friends.

Where Aspen grows up, year after year, always having a place to come home to.

It’s our base. Our fresh start. Our new beginning. Ours and ours alone.

We know how blessed we are to have found it — and we remind ourselves of that every single day. But the process wasn’t easy. Buying a home is like riding a rollercoaster (and not the fun kind with cotton candy at the end). After the chaos of the custody battle, I wasn’t sure my heart could handle it. But the timing was right, and we went for it.

The kids were starting new schools no matter what, so we focused on the best part of the school district. I finally got to give up my Delaware apartment. D sold his house in Virginia. Our lease on the rental was ending. And honestly? We were just done asking permission to live our lives.

We first looked at a new build, but that fell through (thankfully — looking back, it would’ve been a nightmare timing-wise). Then we found a neighborhood we loved and made an offer on a house… but it didn’t work out. Up, down, up, down — my emotions were dizzy.

We put in an offer on a second house — even better than the first. They countered with something ridiculous. We almost walked away, but late that night, D came up with one final offer.

They accepted.

Six more weeks of back-and-forth, paperwork, and praying it wouldn’t all collapse. They even pushed closing back a few days — which just happened to land on the kids’ last day with us during their two-week stretch. We literally signed the papers in the morning and had to drive them back to Delaware that afternoon.

They were crushed, but we spent those two weeks turning the house into their home.

Every kid gets their own room — something I never dreamed possible with five kids. We built beds, unpacked clothes, hung TVs and pictures, laid rugs, arranged stuffed animals, and made each space theirs.

Two days ago, they came home.

Audrey kept saying, “Thank you, Mommy, thank you” over every little thing in her room.

Aspen just wanted to hang out in her own space.

Cam’s room was decked out in gamer décor for his birthday.

Emmie asked me to leave her room untouched so she could set it up herself.

Jack immediately got to work building his PC setup.

Their comfort was instant — you could feel it in the air.

Sadly, they only stayed for the weekend. But when they come back, it’s for good. In the meantime, we’ll get them registered for school and settle into our new routine.

The house feels too quiet without them right now.

But it’s our home — a home for a family. And we are grateful for it every single day.